Israel�s Foreign Ministry dismissed allegations of mistreatment of Greta Thunberg and other Global Sumud flotilla activists as �brazen lies,” even as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he was �proud� detainees were being treated like terrorists.

In a statement posted to X, the Foreign Ministry said �all the detainees� legal rights are fully upheld,� and argued the claims were contradicted by the detainees� own decisions. �Interestingly enough, Greta herself and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody,� the ministry wrote. �Greta also did not complain to the Israeli authorities about any of these ludicrous and baseless allegations � because they never occurred.�

The legal aid organization Adalah countered that numerous detainees reported being denied food and water and physically manhandled by Israeli authorities. Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, has reportedly endured bedbug-infested conditions while in detention, according to the group. Adalah said Thunberg has met Swedish embassy officials but, as of Saturday, had not yet met with a lawyer. The group is representing flotilla detainees in legal proceedings aimed at facilitating their deportation.

Undercutting the government�s denial, Ben Gvir � who oversees Israel�s prison system � openly embraced tough handling of the flotilla detainees after visiting Ketziot Prison.

�I was proud that we are treating the �flotilla activists� as terror supporters,� he said. �Whoever supports terrorism is a terrorist, and deserves the conditions of terrorists� It is worthwhile for them to experience the conditions in Ketziot prison, and think twice before they come close to Israel again. That�s how it works.�

Ben Gvir further claimed the flotilla carried no meaningful aid for Gaza: �I was there, on their boats, I didn�t see aid and I didn�t see humanitarian. I saw one Materna [baby formula] and an entire wild party of people who were dressing up as human rights activists.�

The Foreign Ministry�s assertion that Thunberg and others declined expedited deportation underscores a standoff shaping the legal and political optics of the case: activists seeking to contest Israel�s narrative from inside the system, and a government intent on projecting zero tolerance toward what it labels �terror support.�

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)